Mechanism for automatically positioning lasts



. L. E. TOPHAM.

MECHANISM FOR AUTO MATICALLY POSITIONING LASTS.

APPLICATION FILED APR- IB, 1919.

Patented Nov. 21, 1922;

Patented Nov. 211, 1922.

LAURENCE E. TOPHATVI, 0F SWAIVIPSCOTT,

I /IASSAGHUSETI'S, ASSIGNGR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, 0F PATTERSON, NEW JEBJSJEI, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

MEGHANISME FOR AUTOMATICALLY POSITIONING- Application filed April 18,

T0. all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAURENCE Tor- HAM, a citizen of the United States, resid ing at Swampscott, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Mechanism for Automatically Positioning Lasts, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to apparatus for mounting or supporting shoes on their lasts for presentation to shoe-making machines or other purposes. The invention is illustrated with special reference to its applica tion to shoe and last supporting apparatus of the type comprising a last spindle or jack pin and a shoe forepart support.

Various constructions have been proposed for ensuring the projection of the shoe and last in a predetermined direction laterally from the spindle so that the forepart of the shoe on the last shall be in a desired position as, for example, over a toe rest, such structures requiring time and care when assembling the last and spindle to render it certain that the forepart'will extend or project in the proper direction. In accordance with the present invention, the last, when mounted loosely upon the spindle, will automatically swing over the toe rest and stop in proper position with the forepart of the shoe above or on the toe rest.

A further object of the invention is to provide a structure which, while fulfilling the above stated and other requirements, will enable the last and the shoe thereon to be transferred readily from one type of machine to another, where, for example, one machine has a spindle which is circular or round in cross section and another machine has a spindle which is formed to ensure the projection of the last in a predetermined direction.

In order to illustrate my invention, it is not necessary to include the details of any particular machine for operating on shoes since my invention is applicable to a variety of such machines. Therefore, in said drawings, I only illustrate generally machine parts suiiicient to a clear understanding of the invention.

1919. Serial No. 290,971.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of the jack and its spindle, and a toe rest, and a. last with shoe parts mounted on the spindle.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the last and its thimble. a 69 Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the jack spindle, broken out to better illustrate the cross-sectional shape of the spindle at its base.

Fig. at is a fragmentary inverted plan view of the last and its thimble mounted upon a round jack spindle.

Fig. 5 is a perspective diagram, dot-anddash lines being employed to illustrate the automatic assumption by the last of correct 70 position.

A last 12 has a socket thimble or bushing 13 which, in the form illustrated, is substantially ovoid in cross-section. The pin or spindle 14. of the jack rising above the shoulder 15 is tapered upwardly and its base is substantially ovoid in cross section to fit the lower end of the thimble or bushing 13 in the last. A toe rest for support ing the forepart of the shoe when the last is on the pin or spindle is indicated 16.

VJ hen the operator is placing a last upon the pin or spindle of a heeling or other shoe operating machine, and said spindle is of an ordinary type, he must use considerable care, or at least take some little time to cause the socket of the last to engage the spindle, and then he must make sure that the last is swung to proper position so that the forepart will be supported by the toe rest, and then it sometimes happens that the last becomes accidentally displaced or swung more or less aside. With the present structure, however, the operator simply lightly engages the last socket 13 with the tapered 5 end of the spindle 14 and lets go of the last. The result is that as the last settles toward the shoulder 15, it will automatically swing or revolve, due to gravity, and to the fact that it can not find its proper level or seat until the narrower edge of the base of the ovoid portion of the spindle 14 fits in the narrow side of the socket 13. This opera tion is illustrated in Fighoin which the middle dotted line zv-zv indicates the plane of the mid-width of the last when the latter is in proper position and has its toe portion bearing on the rest 16. If the last is engaged with the spindle while saidlast is laterally inclined from the plane w-w (for instance while the mid-width plane of the last is in about the position of either of the lines y--y) the last can not gravitate to working position without being directed to that position by the co-operation of the lower end of the socket 13 with the downwardly widening ovoid base portion of the spindle 14. The path which the toe portion of the last follows as it so settles down is indicated by either of the curved lines z.c.

Of course, the spindle 14; is so set on the jack that when the last becomes automatically fitted to position as described, the forepart of the last and the shoe thereon will be directly above the toe rest 16 from which position it can not readily be swung aside.

As illustrated in Fig. 4c, the shape of the thimble 13 in cross-section'is such that the last can be fitted to another machine having a round spindle 14 This enables the shoe to be transferred from a machine in which it is essential that it shall always project in a predetermined direction to a machine the construction and operation of which requires that the last shall be rotated or swung upon the spindle.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. In a machine for operating on shoes, the combination with a last spindle, of a last having a socket to receive said spindle, said spindle and socket being relatively formed and arranged to compel the last, when mounted loosely on the spindle, automatically to swing laterally to a predetermined position as it slides down the spindle.

2. In a machine for operating on shoes. the combination with a lastspindle and a shoe rest, of a last having a socket to receive said spindle, said spindle and socket being complementally formed to register only when in a certain relative orientation whereby the last is caused automatically to project from the spindle in a predetermined direction to assume a correct position relatively to the rest when the last is placed on said spindle.

3. In a machine for operating on shoes, the combination with a last spindle and a toe rest, of a last having a socket to receive said spindle, said spindle and socket being complementally formed to engage completely only when in a certain relative orientation and arranged to cause the last, when mounted loosely on the spindle, to swing automatically over the toe rest and stop.

4. In a machine for operating on shoes,

the combination with a toe rest, of a last spindle upwardly tapered and having its base portion substantially ovoid in crosssection, and a last having a spindle socket formed to coact with said spindle to define the direction in which the last projects from the spindle.

'5. In a machine for operating on shoes, the combination with a toe rest, of a last spindle smaller at its upper end than at the lower portion and having said lower portion substantially ovoid in cross-section, and a last having a spindle socket substantially ovoid in cross-section to correspond to the transverse section of the base portion of the jack spindle.

6. A last having a jack pin socket. sub stantially half of the periphery of which is circular and the remainder of which is enlarged to a diameter differing from the diameter of the circle by substantially more than the ordinary mechanical clearance between jack pins and last sockets, the outer end of the socket having no portion more constricted than the portion just described.

7. A last having a spindle socket substantially ovoid in cross-section throughout its.

operative extent.

8. In combination with a jack pin, a lasthaving a socket to receive said pin, said pin and socket being relatively formed to cause the pin to assume a predetermined orientation as regards the last when inserted in the. socket by the operator, the pin and socket being directly separable without rotation.

9. A last having a thimble the periphery of the outer end of which is composed substantially of a circular portion and two converging tangents thereto, said tangents meeting at a point at a distance from the center of the circle exceeding its radius by an amount substantially greater than the ordinary mechanical clearance between jack-pins and last thimbles. y

10. In combination with a jack pin of noncircular formation, a last having a socket of corresponding formation, whereby said last is caused to assume a position with its toe pointing in one predetermined direction when placed on said jack pin.

11. In combination, a jack pin and a last thimble, having similarly shaped cross-sections to enable them to cooperate, the bounds LAURENCE E. TOPHAM. 

